Sasuke sensei!
by Rae-chan33
Summary: Sasuke here will be your new Jounin Instructor, Naruto" Tsunade informed the gaping blond boy as he stared up at the equally shell-shocked raven haired Uchiha. The last thing Sasuke wanted was to teach a brat who thinks he's a pervert SasuNaru,
1. Blond mannerisms

**What can I say, Older Sasuke/Younger-Naruto is just... well its the cutest damn thing I can think of. **

**Besides, in the manga the age difference is just a year, so thats not enough to satisfy me. **

**Mou! I can up with this fic idea while curing boredom on photobucket's SasuNaru archive! I saw a picture that made my heart go 'Doki-Doki'. And, I had wanted to start up new many-chaptered fic since all my other ones are ending (or in the process of doing so). So I was looking in my line up and thought to myself:**

**'My god, you have nothing but terrible angst and melodramatic suffering here, Raechel. You're kinda... morbid...'**

**-grin-**

**Happy readings!**

**ATTENTION: Shota, Yaoi, ahounen-ai, all the goodness in life.**

**the introduction of chapter titles! **

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**Chapter One: Blond Mannerisms **

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There were times- times like these- that Uchiha Sasuke found himself to be a man of little patience. 

"Senseeeeeei, Konohamaru is stabbing his desk with a kunai again!!"

"Am not, am not!!"

"Are so, I seen you!"

"It's _'saw'_, stupid. You _saw_ me do it!"

"I _told_ you he did it! And he called me stupid, Sensei!"

The piece of chalk Sasuke held between his fingers snapped, along with that little patience he had left. His back was on the twenty or sm students of Konoha Ninja academy. It was his bad luck to have to come to the place he had escaped around... god, what was it, five years ago? Six? He sighed. _Six_ years ago he'd graduated into a genin, then spent less then a year before he became Chuunin, and in just under two years he became a Jounin. And now...

He was back in the academy, teaching runny nosed little brats about doujutsu and blood-line-limits.

There really _was_ a downfall to the Sharingan... and it came in the form of a substitute teaching position.

"Konohamaru, stop stabbing school property, Moegi, don't be a tattle-tale." he snapped at the 'pre-pre-teens' whos names he could care less about. He couldn't understand how he had somehow escaped this job as a Chuunin, but he was glad he had.

He really hated kids at this age.

_'Buriiiiiiiiiii'_

The class erupted in cheers, and Sasuke let out a deep breath. The bell had rung, the nightmare was over. He gathered up his things, running a pale hand through his spiky black bangs tiredly as he walked from the now empty class room.

As he walked through Konoha, all eyes were, as usual, on him. Sasuke had to admit it was annoying, being the object of everyone's affection. Their idol because of a name. Around the village, being an 'Uchiha', esspecialy the last one, pretty much secured your popularity. Sometimes, more often then not, he wished he could be a nobody.

"Sasuke-kun, Ne, Sasuke-kun!" a loud voice broke aformentioned Uchiha out of his musings, and he stopped. There, running up to him, was his old team mate back in his gennin days, Haruno Sakura. Her pink hair was easy to spot in a crowd, so it wasn't a big task to identify her.

He sighed. She was the type to only ever have one thing on her mind.

She ran up to him, panting a little, before straightening up and giving a big 'charming' smile.

"Sasuke-kun, Tsunade-shishou would like to see you." she informed him happily. He inwardly groaned, but gave Sakura a nod and began walking back the direction he had come from. Somehow, the pink haired medic-nin had taken this as an invitation to join him. Sasuke knew from experiance to keep his elbows in, or else that too, would be an invitation to Sakura to hook herself upon him.

He sighed, deeply while she chattered on beside him. He didn't _not _like Sakura. She was his old genin team mate after all, but she had... '_ideas'_ about him that he did not share with her. He always wondered why it was only the two of them as a team, while all of the others teams had a three member limit. Not that he wanted another member to their team, or even Sakura for that matter.

He'd just felt like... something (_someone?_) was missing...

"Sasuke-kun, you're going to pass the tower..." Sakura tapped on his shoulder. Sasuke 'hn'ed' and turned, covering up his mistake with a suave air of casualness. He entered the stark red painted building and climbed the stairs, his hands stuffed in his pants pocket. He tilted his head in a 'friendly' manner to the two Anbu guards, who's return nod was barely noticable.

After a moment, the door opened and Sasuke made his way into the large room, at the very end, a blond woman with an obtrusive bust sat at an oak desk.

"Tsunade-sama." Sasuke greeted with a formal bow. The Hokage lifted her amber eyes lazily and squinted at him. It was commenly known that although Tsunade had the body of a woman in her late 20's, she was, in reality, a 50 year old with an aging complex.

"Hm? Who's that supposed to be?" she asked in a slurred tone. Sasuke inwardly sighed. She'd been hitting the sake again, a favorite pastime of the Godaime, along with gambling.

"Jounin Uchiha Sasuke. I was informed you wanted to speak with me?" he drawled out. Tsunade blinked for a moment before slamming her palm flat on the table.

"The Uchiha Brat! Thats right, I wanted to have you do something for me... what was it again...?" the woman began asking herself, rubbing her temples. Sasuke sighed again, this time out of the confines of his conscience. However, if there was to be any more elaboration on Sasuke's part, it was could off by a sudden, and quite loud, bang.

Tsunade's head shot up and Sasuke whipped around as the office door was thrown open. Sasuke tensed, fully prepared for some form of attack. But as he stared at the door frame, he saw it empty. That is, until he lowered his gaze about three feet.

"Baba-chan! I don't want one! I don't need a stinky fart-faced Instructor!" shouted a young boy, maybe around twelve, as he stormed into the room.

Sasuke blinked down at him, obviousely the boy hadn't noticed Sasuke standing there, but the Uchiha most certianly noticed that young boy. He was wearing a bright orange jump-suit with a flufy white fur teim around the collar. If the cloths weren't enough, even his hair was loud; soft spikes of golden yellow blond that fell down past a hitai-ate into startling baby-blue eyes.

"Ah! Naruto! Thats what I wanted to see you for Sasuke-kun." Tsunade exclaimed. Said man blinked once more and looked between the blond woman and the young blond boy a few feet away from him.

_'I dislike where this conversation is heading...'_

Apparently, the boy, this 'Naruto', had finally registered Sasuke's presence. He drug his big blue eyes from the toes of the older man's ninja sandles all the way up to Sasuke's black irises. He glared.

"Who's this guy, Baba-chan?" Naruto demanded, pointing up at him. Sasuke glared back down. Didn't that boy's mother teach him it was rude to point? Honestly...

Tsunade lifted a cup of sake to her lips, draining it quickly with a smirk.

"Naruto, this is Uchiha Sasuke. To you, he will be 'Sasuke-sensei'. Sasuke-kun, I'm assigning you to be Naruto's Jounin instructor." she said with a deadened sense of finality. The room was quiet, and slowly Sasuke's eyes trailed down to the shell-shocked pre-teen gaping at the Hokage. He quickly followed Naruto's example.

"What?! You're assigning this dobe to me?! I don't want a Charge, esspecialy this little brat!" he shouted, momentarily forgetting his usual careless tone. Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.

"Thats right! And I dont want this emo-bastard as my sense- HEY WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BRAT?!" Naruto launched himself at Sauske, who effortlessly kept the rapidly thrown punches at bay with his hand against a spiky blond head. Tsunade huffed.

"Both of you are pissing me off. Listen, Sasuke-kun, you've been a Jounin for a while now, its time you take _someone_ under your stuck-up wing." she pointed a finger at the Uchiha, who glared at her. Next she directed her gaze at Naruto.

"And you. Naruto, you know your position. You've been a genin for six months, yet no matter what team you're assigned to, you're unable to remain there. You've pissed off every other Instructor that I trust enough to let teach you, so we're both out of options. This guy here is one of Konoha's elite, and for me to have him train a brat like you is costing me, so just shut up and deal with it."

When Tsunade finished, Naruto had slowly calmed into a more silent rage fit, his fists clenched and shoulders stiff. Sasuke stared at him, not removing his hand from the rather soft spikes of hair. The boy suddenly slapped the mans hand away and stomped the floor angrily.

"I dont _care!!_ He won't want to be around me either so it makes no difference if hes some elite guy or not!! He's... he's a _bastard_!!" the boy shouted loudly befor turning tail and running from the room, allowing the door to bang in his wake. Sasuke huffed indifferently while Tsunade sighed in agrivation.

"That kids such a pain in my-"

"Assuming you're going to tell me the truth, I'd like a full explination of this Hokage-sama." Sasuke interjected, crossing his arms over his chest. Amber eyes lifted dully.

"Whats to explain? Its the same thing almost every Jounin goes through. You've got yourself a genin pupil. Uzumaki Naruto, age 12, blond haired idiot and a little brat. I'm trusting that you can handle him. You're good at handling missions that others have failed at." Tsunade explained with a wave of her hand. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Failures?" he inquired. The Godaime just shook her head.

"Never mind that now. Your first task as that boy's new sensei; go find him and make sure he's not somewhere causing trouble. Make sure the little brat gets home." she mumbled out the last bit, but Sasuke had heard it quite clearly. He frowned.

"Am I his Instructor or his body-guard?" he asked. Tsunade snorted.

"Its the same job, you little brat! Now go find him or I'll poke out those preciouse eyes of yours!!" she shouted and hurled a sake cup at his head. Sasuke just barely dodged it, deciding now was the time to back off and leave the Hokage to her... important business.

The young man left the Tower quietly, sighing when he got to the bottom. It seemed like his entire career was begining to revolve around taking care of little kids. First the academy, and now he had finaly been assigned to a gennin team.

_'No, its not a team. Just that one boy. That 'Uzumaki Naruto._'' Sasuke mused. To be honest, it confused him. He had expected to be assigned three little brats sooner or later, but just one? Why was that little blond boy getting special treatment?

With yet another sigh (and the mental note to himself that he'd been doing that quite often today) Sasuke began his search for bright spiky blond hair through the sea of dark browns and blacks. Besides that, wasnt that Naruto kid wearing bright ass orange? It would be easy to find a person with such flamboyant traits.

After about an hour of searching all the playgrounds, candy shops, and other child-attracting places, Sasuke was out of ideas as to where the kid could be, and was more then ready to just give up and go home. It was getting dark anyway. Suddenly, a middle-aged man was pushed intp the raven haired juonin, and as Sasuke helped him right himself, he distincly heard the mumble of:

"Filthy little monster almost touched me..."

Sasuke, internaly, was a little taken aback at the animosity in the man's words. One would think a hidiouse creature was roaming the streets. Yet sure enough, Sasuke could see from his tall stature, that the villagers who were walking the market streets parted to make way for something hidden from Sasuke's view. So he looked to their faces, and was surprised to see looks of disgust that matched the man's violently heated words staring down at whatever made its way through the street.

With silent ease Sasuke leapt up to the rooftops, eyes searching for the offender.

He was a little taken aback to see that bright orange jumpsuit and brilliant golden yellow head of hair. The civilians were backing away from the oncoming boy as though he were something unpleasent to look at, or like he had a disease they were afraid of catching. From as far up as he was, Sasuke couldn't clearly see Naruto's face, and he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to even if he was directly next to the boy, as the kid had removed his Hitai-ate and his golden bangs covered his eyes.

What color were they again? Sasuke thought back on it and could only recall a light blue that was unlikely to match in reality, as it was more close to the color of the sky at mid-day.

Fighting back the urge to release another sigh, Sasuke moved to follow the blond to wherever he was going. Naruto walked for a bit before turning down the street into the shadier part of Konoha residential district. Sasuke raised an eyebrow as the boy began to climb the stairs of a dilapidated apartment building. Dark eyes watched Naruto go all the way to the top floor and after fumbling around with his keys for a good ten minutes, only to find his door already open, enter the room that undoubtedly belonged to him.

Sasuke slipped across the gaps between the buildings via a rickety water pipe. He jumped and landed gracefully upon the railing of a plank-like balcony that grew off the apartment window. Behind him, the sun was rapidly setting and with help of the orange-ish-red light, the Uchiha gazed into the small room where Naruto was busying himself.

The blond boy was arranging his forehead protector on his dresser befor staring in the mirror with a big frown for a few minutes. Sasuke scanned the room, taking note of the cloths all over the floor, empty cups of that foul instant ramen, and various technique scrolls. Naruto just ignored the clutter and pulled out an electric stove-top from a small cabinet and began to heat water in a kettle.

Sasuke frowned at the image. Where exactly were the boy's parents? Maybe he didn't have any; it wasn't that unnatrual in a shinobi village. Parents who had Ninja backrounds were killed in missions at times, leaving their children to be taken care of by relatives or godparents. But Naruto was all by himself in this small apartment, making himself a cup of ramen while staring blankly at his own empty walls.

'That guy seems to hate me too..." the whisker-marked boy whispered to himself in a tone that made Sasuke's unwillingly feel guilty. He didn't _hate_ the kid, he barely knew him. He had no opinion on him other then knowing he was an idiot with a loud mouth. Well, in public anyway.

The Jounin remained watching through his window perch untill Naruto began to change into his pajamas. Sasuke had to tear his eyes away for the sake of preserving the boy's privacy. Yet... it was interesting to note on Sasuke's part that Naruto wasn't chubby under those obnoxious baggy orange clothes. Apparently, Sasuke wasn't quick enough to pull his eyes away, becuase all quite suddenly, there was a shrill girl-like scream and Naruto was pointing straight at Sasuke's face through the window.

_"Hentai, hentai!! "_

Sasuke nearly dropped three storiesbefore catching himself via chakra infused feet on the side of the building. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was embarrassed beyond his own control. He didn't quite know if Naruto had seen his face or not, but wished he hadn't.

Sasuke began his walk off to his own apartment, hoping for a non-awkward meeting between he and the little blond idiot when he officialy began training tomorow afternoon.

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**Mooou, its a little irritating for me, Im not sure if I like it being in the cannon universe. Maybe I should delete this and change it to a reality setting? Like, Naruto is in middle school or something and Sasuke's his High School aged tutor? Something like that.**

**Maybe I'll colect votes? Hm? Yeah, thats it! **

**VOTE! Alternate Universe or Cannon Setting?**

**You decide, cuz writting them as ninja is something I havn't had a lot of practice in so it's a little awkward for me at first. **

**Well, r&r and all that jazz.**

**-Rae-chan **


	2. a metophorical 'Kick in the Bells'

**The tallies are in, and the general conscensus is...!**

**Cannon setting.**

**You guys are right, if I'm not used to writting something in a certian style, I should take the opperuinity to practise. **

**So heres another chapter, chapter 2!**

**ATTENTION: contains yaoi, shounen-ai, Shota, and so on and so forth.**

**DISCLAIMER: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh... -flails-...-sigh-... im sick of saying it all the time. I dont own Naruto. FUDUUUUH**

**-**

**- **

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**Chapter Two: A metaphorical, 'Kick in the Bells'**

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- 

Sasuke, being ever the punctual young man, leaned against the railing of the small red bridge in the early morning that once upon a time, he wouild meet his own team members at. His arms crossed over his chest.

That Uzumaki Naruto was due at this pre-assigned meeting place as directed by Tsunade the previouse day. And, so far, it seemed the little twerp was skipping out.

Sasuke growled, hating being kept waiting. He knew that the kid had gone to sleep at a reasnoble hour, having witnessed the begining process himself. That, followed closely by a free-fall drop caused by his rapid escape from being caught in a peeping-tom sort of action. Highly embarrasing to the Uchiha name.

Sasuke closed his eyes and prayed that Naruto had been too frantic to identify who exactly had been staring through his window.

"Oi, Sensei!!" a shout rang through the air, and Sasuke calmly turned his head to see a bright orange clad blond boy dashing over. Naruto panted, heaving to catch his breath looked up with a grin, making the black haired Jounin before him raise an eyebrow.

Apparently, Naruto was over his angry 'I-don't-need-any-stinky-fart-face-Instructor' phase and seemed excited. And, as a bonus, it seemed he hadn't recognised Sasuke as the one who had been staring into his appartment while he changed.

"You're late." Sasuke scolded the young boy, who pouted.

"It wasn't my fualt! I had stayed up really late keeping a look out for perverts!" he exclaimed. Sasuke glanced away quickly.

"Thats the most idiotic excuse I've ever heard, and I've had Hatake Kakashi as my sensei." he remarked, noping to cover for himself. Naruto gaped up at his new sensei.

"But its true! Last night, when I was changing, there was a really ugly face looking through my window-"

Sasuke twitched.

_Who's he calling ugly?!_

"And so when I caught them, they just dissapeared! So I had to stay up all night to catch them at it again!" the blond finished, pounding one fist into his opposing palm to make a point. Sasuke huffed, feeling a little insulted.

"Don't flatter yourself dobe. Because of you, we're now two hours behind our training scheduel." he said. Naruto blinked.

"Training? Hey!! Before all that, shouldn't you tell me about yourself? All my other sensei's did that!" he shouted. Sasuke groaned internaly. Trust this kid to make the day seem longer. All he wanted to do was tell this kid that he wasn't good enough to be his pupil, pass him off on another teacher, and go on about his life.

"You already know my name, Uchiha Sasuke. 'Sasuke-sensei' or 'Uchiha-sensei' to you. I'm 19 years old and have no personal interests, and only one goal in life that I'm concerned about, and its none of your business. I'm the highest ranked Jounin in Konoha in terms of skill, and have expectations higher then you would be able to meet."

Naruto stared up at the older man in awe, which slowly turned into anger.

"I don't give two shits if you're some elite bastard, I can meet your expectations even if they were high! I can't take a guy with hair as stupid as your's seriously!!" he yelled, stomping his foot.

Sasuke glared at him, uncrossing his arms and placing them on his hips. Although he wouldn't admit to falling for such childish argumenting, the boy was getting him a little riled. This itself was a feat, as it wasn't often that _anyone_ got _any _reaction from Uchiha Sasuke.

"You think you're some tough shit? Alright then, here's your first round of training." Sasuke dug in his pocket, being watched carefully by a suspiciouse Naruto.

"This," Sasuke continued, holding out a single, silver bell tied seculy by a string, "This will decide if you really are worth my time. You get this bell from me by lunch time, then I'll take you on as my student. If you don't have it by that time, then you fail and will stay a genin forever."

Naruto's eyes dilated in shock. The bell sent out a soft jingle as a passing breeze brushed it, and Sasuke found himself smirking at the look on the young ninja's face.

"I get it, you're so scared right now, you're not even going to try, are you? I'm sure, you're going to go cry to Tsunade that Uchiha-sensei was being a Meanie and had given you a task you couldn't handle in a million years." Sasuke prodded at the boy, enjoying the look of shock turn into that of boiling rage. Such violent anger rushed from Naruto's baby-blue eyes, that Sasuke had to lean back a bit when the blond burst and began yelling.

"You shitty-jounin!! I'll get your damn bell, so shut your damn mouth!! I'm going to be Hokage, you know that?! And when I am, I'm gonna make sure that you get on you're knees and bow down to me ever day!" Sasuke yawned sarcastically, giving the bell in his hand a small toss, the jingle making Naruto pause.

"If you're finished, your first task is to find me." the Jounin ordered, and with a smirk, he dissapeared in a violent burst of white smoke. Naruto could only cough and curse Sasuke's name while he tried to find his way into clean air. When finally the blond's breathing was uninhibited, he glared and franticaly looked around.

"You shitty jounin!!" of course, Naruto's curses were on empty ears, as the Jounin was now a good few miles away. With an irritated huff of air, tan hands meshed together.

"Alright you bastard, if you're gonna hide, then I'll just look everywhere at once!"

-

* * *

- 

Sasuke lounged lazily against a training post, his dark eyes closed and a smirk still light on his lips. By now, he assumed, Naruto would be fuming as he looked all over the village for him, with only a few hours to spare until the test concludes. Sasuke's pale finger flicked at the bell, earning a small chime.

He could recall, though memory was hazy, when Kakashi had given both him and Sakura the Bell Test. Sasuke -admittedly- failed due to his lack of wanting to participate with Sakura. In the end, the only reason Kakashi kept them on was because neither of them had wanted to give up, and ended up having some form of participation in the end.

"Maybe _you_ should be called the Copy Cat Ninja, ne, Sasuke-tyan?"

An ebony eyebrow twitched at the sudden voice that came from Sasuke's side.

"Kakashi..." the Uchiha drawled as he turned to look at the man who sat languidly atop the training post. Kakashi -his silver hair tossed to the left in his messy fashion, that mask of his covering his lower face and his hitai-ate hiding his left eye- was, as always, reading his trade-marked Icha-Icha 'romance' novel. Unlike Sasuke's old teammate, he no longer referred to Kakashi as '-sensei', due to the circumstance that he believed himself and the silver haired man equals, rather then teacher and student.

"So are you just sitting around, playing with your bells, or have you acquired a genin team?" Sasuke twitched a fraction at Kakashi's banter, but it was expected from a guy like him.The black haired jounin sighed.

"Just one little brat Tsunade assigned me to. A little blond runt who I'm planing on failing anyway." he replied.Kakashi chuckled.

"You're such a mean guy, but I think I know who you're talking about. Uzumaki Naruto, right?" the older man asked. Sasuke frowned and raised an eyebrow in his old sensei's direction.

"How did you know?" he demanded,a bit suspicious. Kakashi sighed, turning a page in his book.

"That kid. He's been through more Instructors then I can count. If it wasn't for the fact that you and Sakura were my last team, he would have wound up with me, I'm sure." he said airily. Sasuke's frown deepend.

"Why so many?" he asked, though he could kinda see why no one wanted the brat around, he was annoying, loud, and arrogant. But still, Sasuke could guess that he couldn't be _that_ bad. Kakashi tensed up abit and srcatched his head.

"Oh, just old grudges and superstitions..." he said in a manner that gave a sense of finality to the conversation. Sasuke turned away, scanning the trees.

"Well, if he doesn't find me and get the bell in..." Sasuke glanced at the sun's position. "Half an hour, then he'll be screwed."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow.

"You really are copying me now. The whole 'bell' thing seems to be a favorite apparently." he quipped. Sasuke huffed.

"Its you're imagination. What are you even doing he-"

"_There you are!!!_"

Both Sasuke and Kakashi's head turned at the sudden shout. Sasuke sighed exasperatedely, tossing the bell and catching it before stepping forward. Naruto stood facing the Uchiha, his blue eyes lit with fire, his breath coming in short pants.The kid was angry, that much was clear.

"You found me fast enough. Though I'm not really sure how..." Sasuke said, stopping in fron of the boy and looking down on him. Naruto fumed and glared at him.

"I found you because no one knows this village better then _me_!! Now stop all that talking and get ready to hand over that bell!" the blond shouted (Sasuke was begining to wonder if he had any other volume settings). Behind the older teen, Kakashi chuckled, but Sasuke paid his no mind, and dangled the bell once more.

"Alright then. Come get it." He said simply, shrugging.

Naruto crouched low and sprang at him, Sasuke immediately noting the poor footing style the blond had, as well as his haste. Naruto rushed forward, his leg spreading out in a kick that would have hit Sasuke in his thigh, had it not been caught in the Jounin's hand. Naruto yelped as Sasuke threw the boy's captured apendage aside, sending the rest of the body along with it, into the dirt.

"B-bastard!!" the whisker marked pre-teen cursed as he flipped around to stand up and race at Sasuke once more. The Uchiha mentally sighed. Naruto was loud, and way too sloppy to be considered stealthy in any way fitting of a ninja.He used one arm to bat away the flurry of attacks Naruto sent at him, as though he were a stubborn fly. Apparently, though, this only served to infuriate the little blond more then dissuade him.

"You-!"

A kick that Sasuke blocks.

"-ugly-!"

A punch that couldnt really reach Sasuke's face.

"-Sonova-!"

Sasuke grabbed the wrist that past his vision, tossing Naruto behind him.

"-BITCH!" Naruto finished as he fell face-first into the dirt once more, coughing and sputtering, his face red in embarrassment. Sasuke slowly turned around to look at the boy. He raised his hand, the small bell jingling softly.

"I still have it, dobe." he mocked, enjoying the tantrum that was going on in Naruto's mind, for surely there was. The blond got up, his posture stiff with rage.

"I'll teach you to look down on me! I'll get that stupid bell!" he yelled. Sasuke shrugged.

"Well if thats true, you'd better hurry, you've only got a few more minutes." he advised. Naruto cursed.

"Thats...! Thats all I'll need to wipe that smug look off your pretty boy face!" here he slammed his hands together, entwining his fingers into a seal Sasuke had seen numerous times. The Uchiha frowned. Naruto wasn't supposed to know that...

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

An explosion of smoke filled the training grounds, and Sasuke was promptly surrounded by twelve Narutos. They all grinned at the older teen's surprised expression.

"I told you!" One said, directing the others to point at Sasuke.

"That I will get that bell!" another said. Sasuke looked around, studying each copy, before his gaze landed on one in particular.

_Dobe._

The bunshins all rushed in, foolishly one at a time. Sasuke disposed of each on, moving backwards, gradually moving closer to the training posts. With one fluid move, Sasuke crouched and side swept two clones into another, easily erasing them. Using the momentum from the kick, he grabbed hold of the last (and thusly, the real) Naruto's wrists, pulled thin wire from his vest, and slammed the blond against the wooden post, bracing his thin tan wrists together and tying them to the post.

It was all over in less then five minutes, and Naruto had not even touched the bell that had remained in Sasuke's free hand the entire time.

"You loose, dobe." he said, the words cuaseing Naruto to gasp and realize that he had gotten himself trapped, the older man looming in front of him, their eyes more or less level, though Naruto was now tied a few feet from the ground.

"_YOU **BASTARD**!!!!"_

Sasuke winced at the volume, glaring at the enraged boy. He held the bell out, just inches in front of bi_g _blue eyes.

"In the end, you never got it. To be fair though, you still have ten minutes. So, if you want, you can still try." he said, leaving the bell to dangle there. Naruto glared fiercly at him, moving his hands to escape the wires. Sasuke sighed and put his hand on his hip, the other still holding the bell lowered. The older man turned, his back now facing the fuming blond.

"As I thought, you really couldn't do much of anything. How is a little brat like you _ever_ supposed to become much of _anything_? I don't think you can." Sasuke said cruelly. Behind him, Naruto winced, still working on the wires that bound him.

Then, suddenly, Naruto felt a lessening in pressure on his wrist, and he lowered a fraction. The movement caught Sasuke's attention, but was passed off as the boy's constant flailing around.

"You keep that up and you'll just make those wires go tighter." he said. Naruto cursed. With the Uchiha now with his eyes on him, it would be impossible to get free and grab a bell right in front of him. He needed to distract him, and he needed to _shut him the hell up!!_

_"-_Your movements are below a gennin, so maybe its a good thing you're going to be one forever. Brats should just stay brats, its easier on people with talent, gets the trash out of the wa-"

Sasuke blinked as he felt his lips' movements suddenly halted. A sudden warmth spread across them, along with a gentle pressure that Sasuke was having trouble identifying. He focused his eyes to the big round face of the person who was suddenly very, _very_ close. Naruto's face, closer then inches away, was leaned upward against his, and their lips -meaning his and Naruto's- were very, _very_ much pressed together.

And then suddenly, they weren't.

In the second or two it took Sasuke to stand there and process what had just happened, a soft jingling reached his ears, bringing him out of his blurred state of mind.

"With two minutes left to spare, you _loose_, Sasuke-sensei!" Naruto said, his mouth streaching into a big fox-like grin as he stood before his newly acquired Jounin Instructor, a small silver bell caught helplessly between tan fingers. Sasuke doubled back, gaping in a dignified manner at the young boy.

"You...you... what the hell... what the hell just happened?!" he looked to Kakashi who was laughing non-stop on his perch, having watched the whole scene play out. While Naruto was busy doing his loud victory dance in the background, the silver haired man caught his breath and gave his shell-shocked ex-student a pat on the back.

"That, Sasuke, was what you need to expect from now on, because you just got kissed by Konoha's Number One Surprising Ninja, Uzumaki Naruto." he said with his eye turned down in a pleased little arch. Sasuke's brows furrowed, and he touched his lips which hadn't stopped tingling with that strange warmth.

"...kissed...?" he whispered. Kakashi nodded.

"Thats right! Naruto-kun sacrificed his first kiss to distract you so he could slip out of those wires and take your bell." the man informed him, giving him another pat on the back. Sasuke was suddenly hit with the full meaning of what had just gone down.

"You did _**not**_ just **_kiss_** me!" he shouted, rushing forward and pulling Naruto up by his horrible orange coat. The blond stuck his tongue out and did a 'V'-sign.

"Sorry, no seconds!" he said. Sasuke dropped him hurriedly intot he dirt, where Naruto groanded and rubbed his rear.

"Whyt he fuck would you kiss me you weird little brat?!" he excliamed, wiping his lips as though they were burning him (though, truthfully, the warm tingling had yet to leave). Naruto pouted up at him.

"I did what I had to do to get you to shut up and get distracted. Though, thinking about it now, I'm sure all I had to do was tell you I saw some styling gel and you'd turn right around." he commented. Sasuke's glare deeped at this, plus hearing Kakashi's chuckling behind him. Naruto seemed to only just notice the extra audiance.

"Oi oi, who's the old guy?" he questioned. Kakashi, having stopped chuckling when he was refered to as 'old guy', gave Naruto a wave.

"I'm Sasuke's ol- previous Sensei, Hatake Kakashi. That was some nice work you did Naruto-kun." his compliment made Naruto glow.

"Yosha! Now you have to teach me!" the blond shouted, rushing forward and gripping the bottom of Sasuke's vest. Dark eyes blinked down at the boy, who's eyes were brimming with excitement. Sasuke slowly slid his gaze to Kakashi, who nodded his head with a hidden smile. The last Uchiha sighed.

"Fine."

Naruto whooped loudly, begining another victory dance. Sasuke groaned, knowing he had _this_ to look forward to from now on.

"Alright, alright, just calm down." He called over the jubilant cries of his new pupil. Naruto stopped his celebration dance and eagerly looked up at the taller man. Sasuke ran a hand through his black spikes.

"Listen, don't think from here on out it's just going to be fun and games. You're not under any old Instructor, and you're not with any run-of-the-mill Jounin. From here on out, you're my student, which means you're not going to be getting any breaks, shortcuts, nothing but hard work." he said in his most serious tone, hoping to see the little brat break down in shivers. However, Naruto only smirked up at him with determination.

"I've known all along there arn't any short-cuts! And hard-work is all I've got, so I can take on whatever you can dish out!" he said this with such grit that Sasuke had to admit, he felt a little impressed. At no other point since he'd met the kid had Naruto sounded more grown up then he had just hen.

"Besides, if a little kiss is all it takes to make Sensei turn into a dead fish, then I can't really believe you're all that great..."

"_Dobe!!_"

Naruto nursed a growing bump on his head while Sasuke glared at him, eventualy sighing once more for the day and putting his hands on his hips.

"Alright brat, go home and eat lunch, then prepare, because tomorrow we start the real training." he said, turning and walking back into the village. Behind him, he heard Naruto give a 'Yosha!'.

"Oh wait, Sasuke!" Kakashi called out loudly. Sasuke paused and turned to the older man.

"What is it?"

Kakashi smiled, his eye closing in a happy arch.

"Tsunade wanted me to ask you if you made sure to follow Naruto-kun home last night!" he yelled.

Sasuke froze. Naruto froze. The air was suddenly thick as small gears turned around and around and arou-

"HENTAI-SENSEI!!! HENTAI, HENTAIIIII!!!!"

Sasuke felt the lid over his eye twitch sporadicly.

_Fucking hell..._

_ -_

* * *

_-_

**hope you like how this is turning out!**

**review if you like! **

**-Rae-chan **


	3. Sensei isn't all that bad

**Thank you for all the reviews! I appreciate every one! Esspecially while Im recovering from my surgery!**

**I'm glad you like how this is going, so heres the third chapter. Enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: No own.**

**Attention: This story contains cursing, Shounen ai, yaoi, and all the good things in life. Also, just _terrible_ spelling. Just, its really, really bad.**

**Aw... I made myself sad...**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Sensei isn't all that bad.**

* * *

Had Naruto known before hand Uchiha Sasuke-sensei's true identity as a 'dirty old man', he probably wouldn't have chosen the kiss as the diversion.

Probably.

The gennin was currently poking an instant ramen bowl with chopsticks, his eyes set in a glare and affixed to his main window. It was this blond boy's full intention to catch that perverted Jounin again, even though it didn't seem like Sasuke had any intention of spying on him after the amount Naruto had punished his Sensei's eardrums.

Naruto sighed, his fierce blush had not quite gone away, but had calmed down to a light dusting of pink dusting across his scars. The ramen before him was by now, overcooked, the noodles too soft to be lifted from the cheap, salty broth. Naruto didn't particularly care. Sure he liked ramen, but it was more over because it was cheaper then anything else, and its always good to find light in a dreary situation.

"Thats right!" Naruto suddenly said this aloud to himself, thrusting a fist up into the air. "I.. I can't be embarrassed or creeped out with Sasuke-sensei! I got the bell, I got it, so he's my teacher for real now! That means that I'll just have to find the plus sides to having a sicko pervert for an Instructor!"

The blond grinned at his own revelation for a few seconds before collapsing on his futon with a hopeless groan.

"Yeah right...! I'll never get along with that kind of guy!"

Naruto had always had a habit of talking to himself, not because he was crazy, but more over due to there being no one to talk with other then himself. There was Iruka, maybe, but he didn't really feel like having to tell his academy teacher that his brand new Jounin instructor had peeped on him undressing, then he (naruto) had kissed the very same Jounin sensei unwittingly.

A _severe _lack of decisiveness on his part, most assuredly.

But... it could have been worse, Naruto mused. He glared over his shoulder at the window before slipping under the blankets before removing his cloths and changing into his pajamas, the sheets tossing around but hiding his body from view.

Sasuke was good looking, and was at least still in the earlier part of being an adult. It could have been worse, it could have been a really ugly guy, old, fat, anything!

"And... kissing him like that wasn't..." Naruto's eyes stared blankly at his wall, his face a hard red and half burried in a pillow. He squinted his eyes shut.

"N-No! No way! He... he's a jerk who... smelled like a butt!"

If it was the last thing the little blond did, he would always think of Sasuke-sensei as a pervert, no matter what.

* * *

"Dammit, what the hell was that for Hentai-sensei?!"

Naruto sat in a sprawled manner upon the dusty grass of the training ground, clutching his head. Or rather, clutching the place Sasuke had just 'bopped' him on.

The Jounin stood over the blond, his face a little more then a glare.

"I told you, it's 'Uchiha-sensei' or 'Sasuke-sensei'. Stop calling me... _that._" he ordered, crossing his arms across his chest. Naruto stuck out his tongue, hoping it covered up his light pink blush.

"Well then you cut it out with trying to watch me change, Sasuke-hentai-sensei." the boy siad this, and then promptly turned about on his bottom, his orange clad back to his Instructor's affronted form.

Really, Sasuke was doing everything in his power to keep from reaching out and throttling the little brat.

"You have no brain, do you? Why would I look at a scrawny little pre-teen half-wit like you? I was only even _near _you yesterday because Tsunade _ordered_ me to." he said through clenched teeth. Naruto looked over his shoulder, his face a deep glare that seemed more like a childish pout.

"I didn't need you to follow me around! I can-"

"Take care of yourself? I'm so sure." Sasuke interrupted. Naruto growled and scrambled to his feet, his fist clentched.

"I can! I don't care what you or anyone thinks!" he shouted. Sasuke scoffed.

"If that were the case. then you wouldn't have had that miserable look in your eyes yesterday. The villagers, your previous instructors, they bother you, dont they?" he asked, moving to lean against the training post. Naruto's glare fell and he blinked.

"N...no..." he denied it in a soft kind of whisper, which made Sasuke feel a little guilty that he'd brought it up at all. Going by that uncomfortable twist in his gut, the young jounin stepped forward and firmly pressed the shiny metal plate on his student's forehead. Naruto pouted and slapped away his offender's larger hand, blushing furiously.

"No touching! No touching, Echi-sensei!"

Sasuke's eyelid twitched, his fingers spasming toward the kunai pouch strapped to his thigh. And then,the sweet, sweet knowledge that he was in fact, an honorary _sensei_ bloomed in his mind. To an Instructor, the definition of 'training one's student' can equate to 'torturing one's student' very easily.

"I guess you don't want to learn anything after all." He said, turning and walking away. Naruto let out a gasp, immediately running in pursuit.

"No! I want it, Sensei! I want Sasuke-sensei to teach me, okay?!" the frantic little genin pleaded, attaching himself to the older teens arm. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in feigned amazement.

"Oh? But a perverted person cant really teach now can they?" he said, though he knew that much wasn't necessarily the truth. Kakashi had been perverted, very much so, but he had taught Sasuke almost everything that he knew today. Naruto though, apparently, didn't know this.

"No! You're not perverted! I didn't mean it okay? We were supposed to train today, so train me, please?!" the blond clutched harder at Sasuke's arm, staring up at him with large pleading blue eyes. Sasuke stared back down. Those eyes really were as blue as he had imagined. He'd keep forgetting in the time he was 'winding down' from the child.

And the kid did sound so sincere, and though Sasuke- for reasons he had yet to address- was enjoying teasing and torturing the brat mentally, he felt bad about drawing it out.

It was almost as if he was deprived. Starved of the attention to the instruction that was necessary for the progression that he was striving so hard for. Or, so Sasuke could only assume he was striving hard for, from the lines he fed him yesterday after that kiss.

A pale eyelid twitched.

_That kiss...!_

"First lesson will begin each morning by a warm-up consisting of five laps around the village perimeter, 500 sit ups immediately following the previous completion. Five hundred more exercises will follow this, ranging from crunches to taijutsu forms, depending on what I feel like you should be doing. " Sasuke's voice was almost devoid of emotion, though on the inside, he was snickering quite evilly with glee at the site of Naruto's big grin turning slowly into a look lf horror. And then the shocked sputtering started.

"B-but th-thats ridiculous!! So much, its not possible!!" he shouted. Sasuke shrugged.

"Tell that to the Jounin Rock Lee. He does twice the amount every morning. But its obvious now, you'd never reach a level like that guy, you just a bratty little-" Before Sasuke could properly finish his insult, Naruto had thrown himself onto the ground and began counting loudly as he did his push-ups. The Uchiha smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

_'Its no use torturing him if he starts getting so serious about training...'_

Sasuke closed his eyes, his lips curling a little more then what could be considered a smirk.

"No no, count every third time you go 'up' as one..."

"_WHAAAT?!"_

* * *

Naruto fell backwards, laying on his back on the grass, wheezing and panting to breath.

"Thats all you've got? The sun only just went down." His Instructor's voice sounded distant from his perch up in a near by tree. If he wasn't as exhausted as he was, he'd snap back with an insult of two, but the fact remained that he was just too tired. It had been around the third-hundredth sit-up that Naruto had come to an official conclusion.

Sasuke-sensei was Satan.

He was so evil, masking his devious ways with his good looks and high reputation. But Naruto knew the truth, he knew that Sensei was just not right in the head.

"Well, you're just a little boy in the end, I guess. I'll let you go home and go to sleep. We'll probably be going to the hokage to get a few D-ranks, since its a form of standard practice." the black haired main jumped down from the tree, stuffing his hands in his pants front pockets as he strolled over to the half-dead body. There was an angry growl from the lump of orange, and Sasuke gave an amused 'hn' to accompany the smirk Naruto knew had to be plaster on his face.

"Good! And anyone would be tired after training that hard! Go home, sensei, and this time don't stalk me." the blond hollered, straining to push himself up and send a glare at his instructor. Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Your desires are non of my concern, brat!" he exclaimed right back before whipping his hands out, crossing his fingers together, and disappearing in an explosion of smoke. Naruto stayed still for a moment or two, trying to understand what exactly the man had meant.

"My desires...eh, GAH! YOU WISH!"

The blond's fury and discountenance fueled his ability to scramble to his feet, although seconds later he was subjected to leaning against the wooden post beside him so as not to fall right back into the dirt.

This is pretty much the only system Naruto was able to use to get back into the village, leaning on trees untill he reached buildings. This of course forced him to take alleyways, where non of the citizens that were still out at this time in the evening could rebuke him. Naruto's hands gripped the dirty brick walls, his entire body sore.

He had no idea who that 'Rock Lee' man was that Sasuke-sensei had mentioned, but if he did any more then what Naruto himself had just suffered through, then he biologically wasn't human.

"Aaaah... I only have a few more blocks to go..." Naruto whispered to himself, smiling in the relief the knowledge brought him. His turned out of the short path of street he had briefly been walking on, moving to stagger through another dark alley.

A sharp slice of pain exploded through his skull as a good sized rock collided with the portion of forehead that just barely escaped the hitai-ate's protection. Naruto cried out, immediately clutching the area and falling down to his knees in a puddle of filthy, stagnant rain water.

"What the hell are you doing..."

Naruto bit his lip as he felt something warm and wet trickle down his temple, then run down his cheek. He had heard the man who had just spoken, and he knew that he wasn't expecting an answer. There was a clattering of bottles, distinct sounds of deep voices shouting out jeers and slurred insults.

"Its been a long time since the last time we got to have a conversation, hasn't it, nasty little freak?"

Naruto could smell the intense oder of alcohol on whatever man it was who had him gripped harshly by his hair. The boy shut his eyes tightly against the pain, under his clenched eyelids, a thick film of salty liquid was building up, and Naruto was trying his hardest to keep the tears back.

"Tch. Insolent little piece of trash. Hit 'im again."

The hold on his blond spikes was released after the man gripping his hair had sent four or five well placed kicks into his stomach. Naruto doubled over, blood staining his lips and shivers wracking his frame. The befouled puddle seeped into his cloths, chilling his body, something he was partially grateful for, as the injuries burned his skin.

He was used to it though, to some extent. That being said, he didn't _want _it to happen. Why wasn't anyone ever there to protect him? Why did he have to _always _rely on himself? It just wasn't fair. Wasn't... wasn't Sasuke-sensei supposed to look out for him...?

_"No... he had, but he got mad at me because I called him a pervert..." _Naruto's vision was blurring, and he wondered vaguely why no more abuse was being sent his way. After all, there he was, unmoving in a puddle of something that was probably only a small percent water, his body too sore to fight back.

"Hey. Don't die, brat."

Naruto decided, right as his eyes closed and he slipped out of consciousness, that it would be the best thing he could think of, having warm arms wrap around him like that and have his cheek press against a firm chest, all the time.

* * *

Sasuke sat, staring at the small body that was covered in thick blankets, sound asleep in his bed. The tea on the nightstand was cooling down, steam still visibly rising through the early morning sun that peered in through the blinds.

The clothes line set up on the balcony provided quick glimpses of orange, a freshly washed jumpsuit lolling about securely in the breeze. Sasuke took in a deep breath, noting the time on the small digital alarm clock that sat beside his tea. It was early, but Sasuke was usually up around this time either way. What was surprising, was that he was able to have awoken as early as he had at all, what with staying up as late as he had the night before, tending to his own unconscious student.

Naruto lay in his bed, blankets pulled up to his nose, fingers just barely gripping the top. It was a childish position, but Sasuke knew all too well after seeing just how helpless the boy was, that Naruto was still just a child. The blond would probably call him some tasteless name if Sasuke said that to his face, of course, but thats how it was.

Truthfully, it was Sasuke's kage bushin that had come upon the scene the previous evening. Four grown men, civilians, assaulting Naruto until the boy had collapsed and passed out. They were easy enough to incapacitate, allowing Sasuke to get to Naruto's injuries more quickly. He didn't think the kid had sufficient medical aid at that shabby apartment, so he brought him back to his own.

Once there, Sasuke had found that he was slightly glad (as contemptible as that would sound) that Naruto was blacked out. He had to remove the foul smelling garments from his student, as whatever liquid he'd been soaking in and drenched though every article of clothing on his body. Though Sasuke was very quick in wiping the dirt off and quickly redressing him in his own boxers and shirt (both a little too big).

The wounds themselves weren't too severe, taking minimal bandaging after being cleaned and disinfected. There was now a small pillow of gauze taped down to the patch of skin just above Naruto's temple, and some wrap around his thin torso.

Sasuke glances at the glinting metal on the opposite nightstand, huffing to himself.

_'For a forehead protector' it didn't really do its job...' _He mused, his lips quirking a bit at his own small joke.

"Mmmnng..." a small groan came from the now twitching blond on the bed. Sasuke sat up a bit straighter, watching as the boy slowly blinked back to the world of the living. The Uchiha felt a sense of impending dread on just how Naruto would take waking up in the bed of a man he had labeled 'pervert'. So he decided to promptly make the boy aware of who's apartment he was in, rather then let the kid freak out before the idiot noticed him.

"Are you awake yet?" he asked, nt moving from his chair at the foot of the bed. Blue eyes blinked furiously and the blond sat up quickly, oly to gasp and wince, flopping back into the mattress.

"Wha-wha...?!" Naruto began, but Sasuke stood up and held up a hand, cutting off the building panicky tirade. The genin stared up at him with wide eyes, his breathing frantic.

"Calm the hell down, geez. If I was going to do something to you I would have done it already..." Sasuke had said it on a whim, but as soon as it left his mouth he realized it probably wasn't the smartest thing to say to a young boy who probably couldn't recall how he had ended up in his Sensei's bed.

"What the hell happened?! Why am I... ?! Where is this-?!" Naruto ranted loudly before Sasuke shoved a cup and an open palm in his face. The blond's eyes shifted to the small white pills in the man's outstretched hand. The moved once more back to Sasuke's face.

"...Se...Sensei...?" he said, furrowing his eyebrows. Sasuke gave a slight nod. Naruto visibly relaxed a fraction, taking the cup and the pills that the jounin was getting tired of holding out like an idiot.

"Its asprin. You're probably still in pain from last night." the raven haired man said, turning away to his own tea. Naruto, who had just downed the first pill as Sasuke was explaining, sputtered and choked on the water.

"Wh-what the fuck do you m-mean by l-last night?!" he shouted, his face bright red. Sasuke frowned and turned to sit back in his bedside chair. He spared his voice and tapped on his own forehead, a signal that Naruto should copy his actions. The boy blinked in confusion for a moment before he touched his temple. His fingers brushed the bandage and he winced. Blue eyes dulled and pulled away to the side.

"Oh... oh yeah..." Naruto slipped the last pill in and swallowed with a small sip of water, placing the half-empty cup back on the dresser. Sasuke stared at the window, slices of blue sky flickering between the blinds. Over on the bed, the younger boy shifted, pulling up the blankets then slamming them back down with wide eyes.

"Eto... S-Sasuke-sensei... where are my clothes?" Naruto's voice was rising back into that frantic tone. Sasuke lazily pulled himself back up, strolled over to the sliding glass door of the balcony, only to find that the thick orange material was still damp from it's cycle through the washing machine.

"They're out on the line, but are still a little wet from the wash." he answered belatedly, walking back into the room to lean against the wall. Naruto's face was red, and he fingered the thick blankets in his lap.

"A-ah..." he stuttered. Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes and striding across the room to gently push the boy back so he would lay down. He sat down on the side of the matress beside his student.

"You should rest more, for today. We'll start missions and more training tomorrow..." Sasuke's voice was even and not betraying any emotion.

"Sasuke-sensei, um...sorry you had to ... save me and all." Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. Dark eyes shifted to meet the fox-like grin that seemed a little plastic.

"Listen, you're an annoying, loud, stupid little boy." Sasuke began. Naruto blanched.

"What the hell?! Here I was _just_ starting to think you might be a decent teacher and now you-"

"Despite all that, you're my student anyway."

Naruto blinked at being interupted, digesting what Sasuke had said. The older man sat hunched over, his forearms resting on his knees. He had a bored expression on his face, not really seeming too bothered by the situation.

"Even if you don't like me, it doesn't matter. As your sensei I'll watch over you, and make sure things like this don't happen again. And... I guess if you have any other problems that are bothering you, you might as well tell me about it. I don't know if you'd get much of help out of it, but... there it is..." Towards the end of his dialouge, Sasuke got a little uncomfortble, not being used to talking in a considerate manner.

Naruto continued to stare and blink, his lips slightly parted in awe. Sasuke was growing irritated at the lack of... well anything other then silence!

The blond looked a bit small, looking up at an angle from his laying position, gripping the covers with his fingers. His light blue eyes shifted away, and a small smile turned his lips upward.

"Sensei...you..." his voice was getting softer, his eyes becoming heavy. Sasuke looked from the corner of his vision, taking in the boy slowly drifting back into sleep. He was, pretty cute, in a wa-

"..you don't smell like a butt."

Sasuke didn't know if he should take it as a compliment or smother the peacfully sleeping blond with a pillow.

* * *

**Yup!**

**Thats the third chapter!**

**So I hope you enjoyed it. Its kinda difficult for me to break free from having too much angst, so I hope this was... somewhat ballenced.**

**Okay, so, is it just me, or is everyone else PISSED OFF at the current Shippuden episodes?! THE NEW ARCS ARE JUST STARTING AND THEY'RE ALREADY STARTING FILLER EPISODES?! HOW LONG ARE THOSE GONNA LAST?! THREE, FOUR MORE SEASONS?! AND THE SAME FOR BLEACH, TOO!! WTF?!**

**I understand they dont want the episodes to catch up with the manga, but really, Naruto anime has ALOT to catch up with.**

**-sigh-**

**If my own mangas ever hits it big (will never happen), I will not allow filler episodes. You want the anime, your asses can WAIT.**

**-smile-**

**Just wanna know if I'm all alone here... heh.**

**Thank you for everything, you readers are really plus points in my life! -no emo intentions-**

**-Rae-chan**


	4. Beware of Dog

**Here it is, chapter four!**

**-Insert standard apology for the delay-**

**Really, I'm still not sure where this is going, but I know I want it to be kinda long anyway, so its alright. The only drawback is longer waiting for updates. Though recently I dropped out of my crappy, crappy Highschool because the people running it have the intelligence of a shoe. So that means I'll have more free time until I get a job.**

**-frantic hand waving-  
**

**THAT DOESNT MEAN I ADVOCATE DROPPING OUT! School is important (I guess), so you should do the years and get it over with (I couldn't take it so I had to leave, heh). Unfortunately, they might be sending me to Juvinal Hall for it though... apparently you dont get Rights until you turn 18, then you're officialy human. ASS-FACES!  
**

**Either way, please enjoy this update. (hopefully not the last one I ever write, lol)**

* * *

**Chapter four: Beware of Dog  
**

* * *

Tsunade eyed the pair suspiciously. Naruto stood beside his teacher with his hands clasped innocently behind his back, the tall raven haired Jounin being his usual indifferent self.

"Theres something you two aren't telling me..." The blond hokage spoke, her eyes fixing on the pair. There were no outward signs of anything amiss, but Tsunade was still an experienced woman. Normaly this same feeling would arise after the boy had either done something stupid, or had something done to him, and didn't want to tell her. But if Sasuke had been with him, then nothing like that should have had the chance to happen.

Besides that, the boy wasn't covered in bandages, either. Tsunade mentally rolled her eyes, recalling that a child like Naruto never really needed medical wrap for very long. His injuries healed over night.

"Mou mou Obachan, nothing happened. You know, Sensei and I are here to get a mission, so hand over an A-rank one!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, looking eagerly at the pile of scrolls on the large desk. Sasuke took it upon himself to smack the over-zealous genin over the back of his spiky blond head.

"No way can a dobe like you handle anything near an A-rank. You're barely at a level to deserve a D-rank." he stated. Tsunade smirked a little in amusement while Naruto glared and began arguing loudly with his teacher.

At the other end of the room, the door opened and two men walked in. Tsunade and Sasuke both turned to acknowlage their arrival (while Naruto was still being held at bay by Sasuke's outstretched palm).

"Inuzuka-kun, Hyuuga-kun, you're both a bit early for that mission assignment..." The Godaime said, stretching back in her chair.

Inuzuka Kiba grinned in a canine sort of manner, red facial tattoos vibrant against his light tan skin. His unruly chestnut curled spikes of hair fell messily about his forehead, barely held back by his hitai-ate. He, unlike his stoic companion beside him, was wearing the standard Jounin garb. Neji, as always, held an air of class and nobility in his white robes and pants, dark chocolate brown hair long and barely held in a tie.

"Damn, and here I was all eager when I went to go get Neji. Whats the hold up?" Kiba asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Beside him, Neji turned to nod to Sasuke, who nodded back, still detaining Naruto (who was oblivious to the extra company). Tsunade pointed to the teacher-student pair.

"Its Sasuke-kun's fualt actually." she said. Kiba whirled around to stare at the dark haired man, who was narrowing his eyes at the Hokage.

"How's it my problem-Agh, _fuck_,_ Naruto_!!" a blue sandaled foot collided with Sasuke's shin in his moment of distraction. Naruto cackled in victory, throwing his arms up. Kiba and Neji's gaze flickered downward, both men smirking a little.

"Ara? Aren't you that yellow-headed squirt who give everyone in the village a coronary?" Kiba asked, leaning down and ruffling blond spikes. Naruto blinked large blue eyes before pouting and slapping the gloved hand away.

"I'm no squirt! It's 'Uzumaki Naruto'!" he shouted. Kiba chuckled, straightening back up.

"Naruto here is Sasuke-kun's new student. Sasuke's his instructor as of a few days ago." Tsunade stated, fingers meshing to hold up her chin. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"So really, _this_ person is why our mission has been delayed?" he inquired in his deep monotone voice. Tsunade nodded, much to Sasuke's irritation.

"How the hell is that the case?" The Uchiha snapped.

"You were originally the one I chose as Inuzuka and Hyuuga's third squad-mate, as this is a fairly important scroll-relay mission, but you have Naruto to focus on now, so you should remain in the vil-"

"Hey, I can just go with 'em!" Naruto interrupted loudly, pumping his fists excitedly. Kiba let out a bark-like laugh, hand on his forehead.

"Yeah! Like that'll ever happen!" he exclaimed. Naruto gritted his teeth, whipping his head about to look up at Sasuke. The Uchiha was smirking.

"Don't look at me like I'm going to back you up."

Naruto stomped on the floor.

"Babachan!" he turned to the woman. "Let me go with them!" he pleaded. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"You know I'm not about to send you on an A-rank mission, Naruto. Even with these three, you'll just get in the wa-" she stopped herself, eyes flashing a bit with guilt. Naruto became still, glaring heatedly at the ground, tan fists clenched at his sides. Sasuke just observed, and there was silence.

"I want to go on a big mission too...!" Naruto whispered. Sasuke sighed, positioning his hands on his hips.

"Dobe, stop it. You sound like a spoiled little kid thats being denied a piece of candy." he said, then looked to Tsunade. "Can't he just stay here until I get back? Things like this wont take that long anyway."

Tsunade sighed, rubbing at her temples tiredly. Naruto was positivly beside himself.

"Babachan! Let me go, let me go, let me go! I promise I wont die!" he continued to plead. Kiba was still chuckling at the whole ordeal, while Neji's brow rose in only slight interest.

"Oh yeah?! And what if you do?!" Tsuande snapped. Naruto paused, looking thoughtful.

"Eto... well, I guess... I dont really have to worry about what happens if I do, cause I'll be dead and you can't hit me or anything..." he said sheepishly. Tsunade's eye twitched.

"You're not going. Sasuke-kun, since this mission is rather complicated without your addition, it would get accomplished faster with you there. You're assigned." she said, leaning back in her chair. Sasuke did a sort of half-bow, half-nod hybrid, and bagn to walk away. Naruto looked rapidly between his retreating teacher and the Hokage.

"Damnit! What about me?!" he shouted. Sasuke looked back.

"Obviously you're staying here." he stated. Naruto groaned.

"Damnit!" he cursed, then stilled. Deep blue eyes flashed, and pink lips curled into a sort of smirk. Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"If Sasuke-sensei leaves," the boy began, and Sasuke froze at the door, a sudden foreboding crawling across his skin.

"Who's gonna protect me from the villagers when they ambush me on my way home at night?"

Sasuke silently cursed violently in a fluent stream, resting his forehead on the polished oak door, resisting the urge to slam it against the hard wood as hard as he could until he died of head trauma.

* * *

Kiba hadn't stopped grinning, and even now, as he sat upon the beast of a dog that was Akamaru, he would chuckle every now and then. Neji only stood, composed and superior.

"You think it's funny that we have not only the mission to accomplish, but we have to baby sit the entire time?" he asked rhetorically. Kiba smirked.

"Not us, that little guy's Sasuke's responsibility. This is gonna be fun, that kid pulls some great pranks. Im glad I'm not stuck with just you and Sasuke, the Silent Duo, the entire time." the dog-like young man sneered, pumping a fist in the air. Neji rolled his violet eyes.

"I doubt Sasuke will allow Naruto-kun to act so reckless on this dangerous a mission. He'll most likely be kept at base camp at all times." he said evenly. Kiba pouted, rubbing Akamaru behind the ear.

"That poor kid, Sasuke's such a boring guy, I can barely get anything from him thats not a glare or a threat on my life. Such a cute kid too, _way_ too cute to be stuck with Sasuke." he said, grinning devilishly at the later statement. Neji raised a brow.

"You sound like you're going to try something... inadvisable." the Hyuuga drawled, as if asking a question and giving an answer at the same time. His tattooed companion just continued to grin.

"Look, here comes the adorable little guy now." he pointed out as two figures appeared around the corner, then, trying to keep a straight face, added "Oh, and Naruto's on his way as well!"

Neji rolled his eyes as Kiba burst into hysterics at his own little joke. Sasuke came upon the pair with a disgruntled look marring his handsome features. Though, Neji could immediately guess why, what with Naruto frenzied in excitement. The little blond was grinning widely, hands gripping the shoulder straps of his bag.

* * *

Sasuke gritted his teeth in irritation.

He had had a feeling that the second Naruto had started complaining about being left behind, Tsunade would give in and send the brat with them. The little brat knew how to push the right buttons apparently. And oh how the suspision in the Hokage's eyes had grown after Naruto had mention being attacked.

The Uchiha had planned on only mentioning last night's incident to the woman if Naruto felt it necissary to bring it up. Apparently, the boy didn't like talking about things like that if he could help it. Besides, his bruises and the small cut on his temple had already healed, strangely.

Sasuke's dark eyes drifted downward to the blond at his side.

_He... healed so fast..._

"Are we gonna go now?" Naruto asked, all too eager to begin. Kiba flitted his gaze to Neji for a moment, then gave the genin a coy smirk.

"We sure are, Naruto. You just keep close to me and Akamaru here, and you'll be perfectly safe." the tatooed jounin said, patting the side of the large white dog. Naruto's eyes shot open, only just noticing the larger then normal animal.

"Whoa! How cool! Sensei, sensei! Can dogs really get this big?!" he asked excitedly, rushing foreward to inspect Kiba's pet. Ssauke glared at Kiba, not missing the man's previous comment.

"Apparently so. Lets get going already. Naruto, just shut up and you'll stay alive longer." he replied. Naruto pouted, then yelped in surprise when Kiba reached down and pulled him up atop Akamaru, arms wrapped around the boy's waist. Neji began walking, already well past the gates, as he ignored the whole business.

"C'mon Naruto, it's a lot more fun up here then walking with that Sensei of yours." Kiba drawled, glancing over Naruto's blond spikes to a very heated Sasuke. Said man was barely keeping his rage contained.

He had a feeling Kiba would take a shining to Naruto, the two having similar personalities and what not. Now however, Sasuke was begining to suspect that Kiba was just goading him into some reaction that just wouldn't come. Hell, he should be happy the Dog-lover was practically taking responibility for watching over the dumb blond.

"Uwaaa! It's really warm!" Naruto shouted as they began following after Neji and out of the village. Kiba, still making sure Sasuke was within hearing range, smirked.

"We'll it would be, wouldn't it, Naruto-chi?" he replied. Sasuke winced.

Calling Naruto '-chi', would not go over well.

"Ne, ne, Kiba-sensei, what does this guy eat?" the blond asked. Had Sasuke been a man of any lower class, he would have stumbled over himself in shock.

Naruto was just going to ignore it?! After giving him an ear ache for much less?!

Sasuke's irritation had reached fever pitch, and so instead of tearing his student's head off and throwing over his shoulder at Konoha's gate (like he _wanted_), he picked up the pase, jumping into the trees.

"Let's get a move on." he muttered, rushing past the pair. Sasuke could just _feel _Kiba's shit eating grin as he ordered Akamsru to speed up, Naruto cried out in delight, clutching onto the dog's thick fur.

Sasuke quickly caught up with Neji, leaving behind Kiba's obnoxious prattle as he entertained the boy. Neji's milky eyes glanced at the man rushing beside him, and his lips quirked upward slightly.

"You should know by now not to let Inuzuka get to you." he said, looking straight ahead as he pushed off a tree branch. Sasuke gave a dismissive 'Tch!'

"Like I can be bothered by an idiot like him. Tsunade gave you the scroll, correct?" the Uchiha replied. Neji nodded.

"I've got it. And it's only natural to feel bothered when someone you're becoming attached to has attention from others." he stated with a wise, mocking sort of lingering tone. Sasuke glared at his comrade, his irritation still not calmed.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean, Hyuuga?" he snapped. Neji just sort of smirked in a knowing kind of way that pissed Sasuke off to no end.

"Nevermind, forget I said anything. Inuzuka and Naruto-kun sure like each others company, don't they?" the long haired boy drawled, noting the pair's commotion as Akamaru carried them closer. Sasuke huffed.

"We'll then, Kiba can teach the little snot. God knows I have no desire to have him around." he said rather harshly, sending chakra into the soles of his feet and propelling himself forward, leaving the group behind.

"Oi! Uchiha-yarou! You ass, slow down!" Kiba shouted after him. Naruto, who clung half-heartedly to Akamaru's thick white fur, just stared after his instructor, his deep blue eyes suddenly seeming troubled.

"Ara?" Kiba looked down when he noticed the silence. He swiped a hand down to push up on the boy's chin, so they made eye contact. Neji observed from a few branches off.

"Neeeh, Naruto-chi, are you sick? Akamaru's bouncin' too much for ya to handle?" he inquired. Naruto pursed his lips and shook his head, looking away as much as Kiba's retraining hand would let him.

"No, thats not it. I just... You know, Sasuke-sensei really doesn't like me..." he muttered. Kiba blinked.

"Heeh? Mou, I doubt that's the case. If he didn't like you, he'd just ignore you. Isn't that how it goes?" the shaggy haired man said, touching a finger to his lip thoughtfully. Naruto's large eyes blinked.

"...Is... is it?! So then, he does like me around you think?!" he asked hopefully. Kiba let out a bark like laugh.

"Ah, I wouldn't go that far. As far as I can see, he might not hate you, but he sure as hell finds you annoying. But thats alright, he says I'm annoying too, but look what good friends we are!" he exclaimed, throwing out his arms for emphasis . Naruto's face went to stone.

"But he doesn't seem to like Kiba-sensei at all..." he murmured. Neji suddenly hopped to the adjacent branch, closer to their conversation. Naruto, who hadn't really gotten a good look at the young man before, was trying hard not to stare at his light lavender eyes. The white-robed man gave the genin a comforting smile (to which Kiba let out a dramatic gasp upon its reveal ).

"Don't take what Uchiha says to heart, Naruto-kun. He's stubborn, and often times has difficulty seeing things for what they are." Neji said with an kind of Elder quality. Naruto stared as best he could while being tousled about on Akamaru's back, but managed a large grin.

"Un. But, still, I still think he's a perverted bastard." he said smugly. Both Kiba and Neji raised their eyebrows.

"Perverted...? What led you to that conclusion?" Kiba asked curiously.

While they jumped through Fire Country's dense forest, Naruto decided these two men, obvious friends of Sasuke, would enjoy hearing all about his Sensei's 'perverted activities'.

* * *

"Really, Uchiha, _peeping_?"

A thick vein, normally hidden from sight under ivory skin, throbbed visibly in Sasuke's forehead. The light from the camp fire (set up a few hours previous) was only giving more insperation to the Uchiha's burning anger.

"You don't know what you're talking about, _Hyuuga." _He said through gritted teeth, his entwined fingers clasped under his chin clenching tighter. Neji, who was just finishing setting up his tent for the night, gave a thoughtful 'hum'.

"Ah, maybe they don't call it peeping anymore. What would you call it? Observing without permission? Or, studying the human body without medical reasons?" he said. Across the campfire, Kiba laughed loudly as he leaned back against a sleeping Akamaru.

"More like, washing the window with his tongue, hahahaha!" the spiky haired jounin heckled. Sasuke snarled, throwing the nearest rock towards Kiba's head, to which the victim barely had time to move before it hit Akamaru in the ribs. However, it seemed the goliath dog didn't feel it, and continued to sleep on. Kiba glared.

"Watch it, asshole! That's my dg you just hit!" he shouted. Sasuke glared heatedly right back.

"It would have been your head if you didn't move." he said in a poisonous tone. Kiba was about to holler right back, but Neji raised a hand to stop him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, then followed the older man's pointed finger.

Naruto was sprawled out in Akamaru's front paws, the dog's large head resting on the small boy's torso, like a flesh and bone heating pad. One of the blond's arms was thrown out, resting in the dirt, while the other disappeared under Akamaru's head. Kiba blinked and grinned at the sight, turning to gauge the boy's sensei's expression. Sasuke just sighed, standing up and walking over.

"Aw, you're gonna move him? Akamaru won't crush him in his sleep or anything." Kiba said in just above a whisper. Sasuke rolled his eyes, bending down to gently lift the sleeping genin. Though, apparently Naruto was a very heavy sleeper, because Sasuke had to do quite a bit of rough shaking and pulling to extract his arm.

"Hey, where's his tent?" Neji asked suddenly, only counting the three set up. Sasuke bit backa very loud groan of exasperation. Of _course _Naruto didn't bring a tent. Why? Because bringing a tent would have been common sense, and that, is apparently something Naruto would forever _lack._ Turning around, Sasuke sort of held out the bundle in his arms to Neji.

"I don't suppose you'll be willing to-" he started, but Neji was already going inside his own tent.

"No thanks, I'm more comfortable on my own." he said, shutting the flaps behind him. Kiba watched him go, then turned and grinned up at Sasuke.

"He can sleep with m-"

"No." Sasuke cut him off, walking over to his own tent and hesitantly bending to deposit the child inside.

"Aaaaaaaw!" he heard Kiba's muffled whine from inside his lodging, but Sasuke merely ignored the bothersome man.

In the end, Sasuke would suppose it was either luck or his on fickle purchasing habits that led him to buy a tent that was a bit bigger then necessary. Naruto could fit on one side, and still give the Jounin enough room to sleep on his own.

"You're such a useless brat, you really didn't need to come." the Uchiha muttered to the sleeping child, pulling off the boy's hitai-ate and setting it beside him. Naruto just continued to breath through parted pink lips evenly, every now and then a finger or eyebrow twitching as he dreamed. Sasuke fought back a yawn, moving to sit down next to his student. He glanced down.

There was not even a scab where the rock had hit him the other day, and most assuredly no scar. Dark eyebrows furrowed. It wasn't really medicaly or realistically possible to heal at such a fast rate.

"Blood-line limit...?" he mused in a whisper, reaching over to touch the spot lightly. He snapped his hand back when Naruto gave a soft 'Nuu' in his sleep.

Sasuke ran his hand through his dark spikes, breathing out heavily. No, Naruto couldn't have something like a bloodline limit. He was an orphan after all, and Sasuke had never heard the name Uzumaki in Konoha's Clan records. There had been an Uzumaki clan over in the now extinct Whirlpool Country, but that place had been wiped out, probably before Naruto was born. Besides, they apparently specialized in excesive amounts of Chakra reserves, not fast-rate healing. Or so the record said, it was too brief and vague to really take much from it. Besides, Sasuke hadn't really been interested in it anyway.

Pulling off his own head band, the Uchiha laid back, eyes only glancing over to his sleeping student once more before slowly moving shut.

"...You're lucky you're cute, brat." he mumbled, slowly relaxing into sleep. It was strange, all the irritation and anger he'd felt had died down as quickly as he had laid down beside his young student.

* * *

**I just realized my birthday is tomorrow...**

**...huh. I'm gonna be 17. -gag-**

**Baba-chan...**

**I guess its a good thing I did this chapter, sorry its kinda short, like I said, I don't really know where I'm gonna go with this. You're welcome to give me ideas or poke me along with a sharp instrument. Ah, the freedom of multi-chaptered stories.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter (I introduced new peoples, yayz)**

**Review if you deem me worthy, stud-muffins.**

**-Rae-chan**


	5. Sporadic

**...ch-chapter five is here... -waves a little flag-  
**

**Now, before you kill me in god knows how many different ways, know that the reason is... um... well.**.** I just started to get annoyed at the Naruto manga series. Its... not really going anywhere and has become a little boring.... Even SasuNaru is starting to not be worth it...But but! I wrote this anyway, didn't I? I updated, I did!  
**

**But anyway, you came here for this:  
**

**LET THE CHAPTER, BEGIN!**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Sporadic  
**

* * *

Sasuke didn't have to open his eyes when he woke up the next morning to take back what he had said the previous night.

Naruto wasn't cute. At all.

"Stupid-senseeei, smelly senseeeei. Sasuke-sensei has a stupid hair cuuuut!" Naruto sang, apparently thinking his instructor was still asleep. The idiot boy wasn't even able to sense the sharp spike in Sasuke's chakra pattern that was fluctuating like mad.

Irritation.

"Stupid-Sasukeee. Ne, Sensei, you're pretty lazy, huh? Its time to get up but you're still sleeping!" the genin continued, completely unaware that Sasuke's eyebrow was twitching, and that the tent was filling with a murderous aura.

Though just as Sasuke expected the idiotic boy to continue on with his insults, Naruto grew uncharacteristically quiet. Sasuke felt the air pressure shift as his student moved a bit closer. He could hear the tent floor shuffle from the blond moving on his knees to tilt his body over and lean in.

Sasuke's brows furrowed, but he quickly snapped them back level to keep up his 'sleeping' expression. Why was the brat acting weird? And what was he doing, leaning over him like that?

A sharp jolt threatened to force the Jounin's eyes open from a sudden wave of shock. His air space was being invaded so severely, that warm currents of what could only be Naruto's exhales were ghosting over his cheek.

_'Thats it, I gotta 'wake up'...!' _the raven haired man thought urgently, trying to figure out a way to go about doing such a thing in this sort of situation. Thankfully though, he didn't have to.

Akamaru's unearthly bark thundered through the morning air, shuddering the ground and displacing a loud murder of crows. Sasuke sighed through his nose, deciding to let Naruto trample over his 'sleeping' body in his eagerness to get outside.

Once his student was out of eye sight (Sasuke could hear him enthusiastically greeting Neji and Kiba, then begin doting on the dog), the raven haired Jounin sat up and stretched.

"Naa, Sasuke, time to get up princess!" Kiba's head suddenly poked through the tent's opening flap, only to be punched directly in the face, back out.

Sasuke pulled himself out of the tent (and over Kiba's body) with his usual scowl in place. His black eyes dragged over the small campsite, finding Neji packing up his tent and Naruto eyeing the contents of a steaming pot over the smoldering embers of the fire.

"Breakfast is no more then 10 minutes, then we're going." the raven haired man said, collapsing his own tent with ease and folding up the sleeping bags. Naruto grinned, shoveling a spoonful of some sort of stew into his mouth.

"Yosh! I'm ready _now_!" he exclaimed, speaking around the chunks of meat and vegetables that filled his cheeks. Kiba glared at Sasuke from where he sat rubbing at his bruised eye, then went to sit at the log on the other side of one excitable Gennin.

"Tch, sorry Naruto-chi, but I think you're gonna be staying here for this." the Nindog Clansman said. Naruto choked on his breakfast.

"What?! No way!! I'm going along, aren't I Sasuke-sensei?!" the boy asked, completely aghast at the idea of staying behind. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder.

"Of course you're staying here. Only a fool would bring you to the scroll exchange." Sasuke said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Naruto stared with his mouth hanging open, his bowl of stew forgotten in his hands.

"Wha...! B-but! Tsunade-bachan said-!"

"She agreed you could come, not that you could take part in the mission itself. Just stay here and... make sure the fire stays hot." Sasuke interrupted before Naruto could say any more. The blond looked helplessly at his teacher's back, to the awkward looking Kiba who stuffed his mouth with food so he didn't have to speak, and then finally to the stoic Hyuuga who was adjusting his pack.

"But...! Damnit, I'll be useful!" Naruto insisted, clenching his eyes shut and hammering his fists in the air. Sasuke ignored his student's protests, continuing to fill his bag and fit the straps to his shoulders. Kiba furrowed his brows at the young boy's plight, swallowing with a large gulp.

"Hey, Sasuke, it should be okay... He can stick to Akamaru while we make the exchange, and if anything happens, Akamaru can get him back here and away from anything dangerous." the Inuzuka supplied. Naruto whipped around, his eyes beaming as bright as the big toothy grin that stretched out his whiskered cheeks.

"Yeah! I can do that! Kiba-sensei, thank you!!" he cheered, throwing his arms around Kiba's waist, squeezing with all his might while the Jounin wheezed and smiled exasperatedly. Sasuke frowned.

"Who said that's whats going to happen, brat?" he snapped, eying the boy distastefully. Naruto bristled, and was immediately on the offensive once more.

"But its a good idea! I'm going to go along, I wont get in the way if I stay on Akamaru!" he shouted. Just as Sasuke was about to reinforce his order, Neji raised a hand to gain attention.

"Enough. We need to get a move on. Naruto can go on Akamaru as long as he stays quiet. Lets go." he stated, jumping into the foliage and taking the lead. Sasuke sighed, starting off while giving one last glare over his shouder at Kiba and Naruto (the blond was already trying to clamor up onto the giant white dog's back). Kiba just grinned at him haughtily and hopped up behind Naruto, making a great show of scooting in close against the boy's back just to see the irritated look on the Uchiha's face.

-

Sasuke was silent during the exchange. He studied the ninja that received the scrolls, the way their eyes darted around while asking if they had been followed. No, they hadn't been followed, that was certain. But this didn't call for a lax in defense whatsoever. In fact it only heightened Sasuke's vigilance as they left the meeting place and made their way back through the forest. Kiba and Neji seemed to notice it too, even with Naruto making a ruckus over how boring the exchange had been and why there hadn't been any action and was that really an 'A' rank mission.

"Naruto-kun, it was an A-rank mission due to the importance of the scroll being exchanged. Many people want the information contained inside it, and would attack and kill to get it, but that doesn't mean that they always know its whereabouts." Neji reasoned to Naruto, who pouted as he clung to the white fur of Akamaru's neck.

"But Tsunade-baba said it was a dangerous mission. Having a chance that it might be dangerous doesn't deserve an A-rank..." he whined. Sasuke breathed heavily while leaping to another branch.

"Idiot. You really don't know anything, do you?" he asked sarcastically. "There are other aspects of a mission that raises danger level."

Naruto huffed, his eyes shut in a vulpin-like manner, not understanding yet not wanting to ask lest he be lectured.

"Yeah, I guess I understand..." he said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"No you don't."

The group continued on their way, Natuto and Kiba talking animatedly back and forth, with Sasuke trying to drown their voices out and Neji not paying attention to any of it. The space around them was still unnaturally quiet, bringing even Kiba to frown at the surrounding trees.

"Naa, naa, whats up with everybody...?" Naruto questioned when he was no longer being payed attention to. The only sounds left to answer him were the constant thudding of sandal clad feet and heavy paws on the thick tree branches. Sasuke raised his hand, and the group came to an abrupt halt.

"Neji." he said, giving a silent order. The Hyuuga nodded.

"Byakugan!"

Naruto's eyes shot open, staring in awe at the sight of Neji's face filling with thick veins and pulsing out a wave of chakra. Kiba and Sasuke waited with serious expressions as Neji's clear eyes flickered once, twice, several times before canceling his bloodline limit.

"No enemy nin, but we are being followed and surrounded in an arc. Proximately 0.8 kilometers between us. " he stated. Sasuke nodded, and Kiba frowned.

"If its not ninja, who is it?" the dog jounin asked.

"Bandits, judging from the way they're organized. I'd say about twenty or thirty, closing in." Neji answered. Sasuke took a deep breath, motioning with his fingers for them to continue. Naruto gave a yelp as Akamaru lurched forward. Sasuke glanced over to see KIba grinning as he wrapped his arms around the boy's middle, shouting 'seat belts!'. He grimaced.

_"Idiots."_

Naruto peeked over at his instructor, watching the raven haired man jump along side of Kiba's monstrous steed. Sasuke's eyes were set on the path they took through the trees, not bothering with the stare he could feel plain as day on his back. The Uchiha thudded along the branches, gripping palm-fuls of bark and leaves as he propelled himself.

A shadow flashed past him, to his right. On the other side of Kiba and his passenger.

"Kiba, Naruto, look out-!!"

"Neji!"

The forest erupted in shouts and projectiles, metal canisters ushering smoke flew past Naruto and Kiba, making Akamaru rear back and leap down to the ground. Neji followed them down, simultaneously activating his byakugan as men in dark clothing poured out of the forest. Sasuke collapsed his knees and let himself fall to the ground, catching himself in time to send a roundhouse kick to a bandit's chest. Smoke from the canisters flew in thick plumes around the tree trunks, and Sasuke instinctively covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

"Akamaru, get Naruto out of here!" Kiba shouted from a few yards away. The dog's thundering bark shattered through the mele, and it was enough to make Sasuke feel a bit more at ease that Naruto wouldn't get in the way.

"Sasuke, on your left!" Neji shouted, in the middle of soft-palming half a dozen enemy fighters. Sasuke glanced over, throwing himself back as yet another mysterious canister of smoke flew at him. He frowned in confusion.

These men weren't aiming to pick any of their pockets or weapons pouches as bandits often do when starting a fight. They were just, simply attacking.

_"What the hell..."_

"GUAH! LET GO! LEMME GO!"

Sasuke spun on his heel in the middle of throwing a kunia. Naruto's shouts rang through the trees and to his ears. He looked back at Kiba and Neji, both who seemed to be taking on the enemy at a rapid rate, and doing just fine. Kiba turned.

"I heard it, go! We've got this!" he shouted, waving his hand while popping a soldier pill. Neji just gave a sparing nod, and Sasuke took off in the direction of Naruto's voice.

It was only a few more yards from the main fight that he located Akamaru, tied by bolted ropes into the ground and whining angrily. There were several men wrestling with Sasuke's blond student, attempting to muffle his shouts by forcing a cloth gag into his mouth. Sasuke ran forward, sharingan activated more for intimidation then necessity.

"Shenshei!" Naruto called out through the gag. Sasuke stared evenly at the men who had all frozen, his expression betraying nothing.

"Let him go." he ordered. The men all glanced at each other warily. Sasuke took a step forward, pointing a kunai at the one who held Naruto's arms behind his back.

"Let. Him. G-"

He froze.

The world started to spin around him, making him deactivate his sharingan and hold out his arms to balance his now unsteady legs. The bandit restraining Naruto grinned.

"Finally." he growled with a smirk. Naruto kicked and struggled, eyes fixated on Sasuke, who shook his head as though trying to clear away a fog of a daze.

"Shenshei! Shash'ke-shenshei, helf! Get 'hem off!" the blond shouted as best he could. Sasuke gritted his teeth, glaring at the men gathered around his student. He cursed the sleeping agent that undoubtedly filled that smoke bomb. Through blurred vision, he saw the largest of the bandits send a vicious blow to Naruto abdomen, making the boy gasp, then fall limp.

"Bastards..." he growled, his body careening into a nearby tree against his will. His knees, arms, every part of his body, felt weak and strained, as though he hadn't slept in days. One of the men strode forward, pointing at him and motioning to another man brandishing rope.

"We'll take both of 'em!" he heard, just as his eyes lost the battle and slid shut, the last of his consciousness leaving him as his body collapsed onto the dark soil of the forest floor.

_"Shit...! Naru....to...!"_

_----_

"Nnngh..."

"Sensei? Sensei, wake up!"

Dark, charcoal grey eyes appeared, flickering, beneath dark lashes. Sasuke groaned once more, his throat sore and mind fuzzy. He couldn't see anything, only darkness and a soft glow of a torch burning against a wall several feet away. But away from where?

"..Nnn...Naruto...?" he prodded. He turned his head groggily toward the sound of clanking metal against cement and shuffling cloths.

"Sensei! Are you awake now?" came Naruto's urgent voice. Sasuke quickly located his student, just a few paces away on the opposite wall. Naruto was chained by the wrists and ankles directly against the cement wall, his face a bit scuffed up but otherwise looking unharmed. Sasuke felt cold metal bite into his own wrists, and found himself secured even more so then Naruto. Both wrists, upper arms and ankles were bolted to the wall tightly, as well as spacers restraining his fingers far apart from each other, like individuel handcuffs.

"Hand seal blocks..." he cursed. Naruto fidgeted across the room, wriggling and pulling against his binds. Sasuke huffed.

"Cut it out, you'll only hurt yourself." he warned. Naruto pouted, still struggling.

"Sensei! We've got to get out of here!" the blond announced through clenched teeth. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Oh really..."he mumbled sarcastically. Naruto, however, seemed more urgent then his teacher, his eyes wide and panicked. Sasuke frowned.

"Naruto, calm down. These men are just bandits, they just want our supplies and money. They know better then to do anything serious to ninja." he said, hoping to aliviate some of his student's agitation. Naruto mearly shook his head vehemently.

"No!While you were still unconscious, they told me...! They said they were gonna-"

His reply was abruptly cut off as the grating of heavy steel against cement filled the small prison-like cell. A door that seemed to serve as the only entrance and exist was pushed open, filling the chamber with light. Sasuke glared at the two men who walked in, recognizing them as the ones who had first captured Naruto. They grinned haughtily, splitting up as one went to Sasuke, and the other to Naruto. Sasuke's glare intensified as the man near his student pulled out chains and clasps.

"So, enjoying yourselves?" the man at Sasuke's side inquired with false innocence. The jounin seethed.

"Just what do you want? I'm sure by now you've taken our supplies, and whatever else we had on us. You might as well release us before you regret it." he advised. The man chuckled, a slight stench of alchole on his breath and clothes. Across the room, Naruto kicked up a fuss, shouting and cursing while chain was being wrapped around his neck.

"If thats all we wanted you wouldn't be here right now." he stated smugly. His beady eyes traveled over to the thrashing blond, who was being unlocked from his bonds, only to be tied further about the waist and arms. Sasuke began to pull at his own shackles.

"What the hell are you doing..." he growled. The man beside him chuckled once more, grinning in a perturbed manner. He motioned to where his comrade stood with the scuffling genin, trying his best to keep him still.

"Stealing and hoarding will only get you so far. We found where the real money is..." he sneered, stepping out of the room, his partner pulling Naruto along with great difficulty. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"...You'd be surprised how much a blond slave is worth on the market."

The door of the chamber began to slide shut, yet the grating screech was not enough to drown out Naruto's screeches and shouts. Sasuke began throwing his body recklessly, eyes dilated into the Sharingan.

"NO! STOP! LET HIM GO!" he bellowed, the skin on his wrists and arms ripping under his shirt fabric as they pulled against his restraints.

"_Let me go! Nooo! Stop! Get away from me, bastards!" _Naruto's sharp cries came in muffled from the other side of the door. Sasuke bared his teeth, his blood pressure surging and pumping in his ears as he twisted and writhed frantically against his restraints. He clenched and unclenched his hands, desperately trying to get the finger-bards off so he could use one-handed seals. Even the technique Kakashi had taught him, Chidori, required hand seals. He could hear laughter along with his student's shouts, sounding so far off, though it was only on wall away.

Only one wall, and Sasuke couldn't reach him.

"_Let me go!! Stop!!"_

"_DAMNIT_!" he cursed at the top of his lungs, feeling his skin and muscle splitting against the metal bands that stayed firmly bolted into the wall. His chakra was useless without fuujins, and the spinning tomoe in his eyes couldnt help a situation like this. He heard more laughter, and Naruto's shouts and protests grew louder still.

"_Don't! Leave me alone! Get away from me!"_

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly, sweat dripping down his face. It was the uselessness. The same old uselessness, coming back to throw it in his face that he was incapable of saving anyone important to him.

"**_DAMNIT_**!!"

And then the cries and shouting stopped.

Sasuke's eyes shot open, searching back and forth at the door his pupil left. The silence on the other end only lasted a moment, then the shouting started up again.

But it wasn't from Naruto.

Sasuke stared, at a loss for the cries of the bandits on the other side of the wall. They were shouting about something he couldn't understand, they began to scream, call out to one another in panic. There were even a great many thuds and hammering against the door and walls. But above that, there were the cries, the shrieks, and the sickeningly disturbing chakra.

"_What the hell is he...?!"_

_"OH GOD!"_

_"M-Monst-"_

And then, abruptly, there was silence again. Sasuke, who's eyes were mere pin-pricks of red in a sea of white, flashing back and forth desperately at the beam of dull light that came from under the door. He could see a shadow move across the light, the tell-tail sign someone beyond the door was moving. The jounin heaved in heavy panting breaths, his chest, legs and arms throbbing as his mind went into overdrive.

Where was Naruto? What had just happened? Was Naruto part of the cacophony that had just taken place?

"N..Naruto?!" he called out. He received no answer, so he tried for it again, louder.

"Naruto!"

There came the sound of dragging on the other side of the door. A shuffling dragging that sounded as though someone with a severe limp had become dizzy and wary of their footing. Sasuke heard yet another, albeit lighter, thump, against the door of the cell. Blood dripped from his wrists into a small puddle on the dirty cement floor beneath him. He waited, tense and with nothing but concerns for his student's current whereabouts and well-being.

The door was unlatched from the outside, and slowly, tortuously so, heavily dragged open. Sasuke breathed in a sharp gasp of air as his vision drowned in red.

Naruto stood with his body leaning against the door, his fingers looking small as they clutched the metal. His posture was like that of a lost child too scared to ask for help, clinging tightly to a world unfamiliar. Almost every inch of the blond genin's body was covered in blood. It hung thick on his orange jumpsuit, which was almost falling off his shoulders and torn in several places. His formally white t-shirt and even his orange pants were nearly entirely red, some of the dark liquid dripping down into his sandals. His hair, once bright and golden, was now a dark scarlet, with bits of light orange appearing in places the blood had only just barely reached. Though, the site brought no relief to Sasuke.

Naruto's face was truly pitiful.

He stared at Sasuke with half-lidded, vacant eyes that seemed to be begging for something Sasuke was unsure he had to give. The blond's face and neck were spotted in thick blotches of gore, so much so that the whisker-like scars on his cheeks were all but concealed. For a moment, so fast that it was easily dismissed as a trick of the light, it had seemed that Naruto's eyes were scarlet.

"...Naruto...?" Sasuke spoke cautiously. Something seemed to flick back on behind the blue eyes of his student, as Naruto gave a little gasp and strode forward, his right leg dragging slightly in a limp. He held in one of his hands a plasma coated key, which he used to free Sasuke from the tight shackles.

"Sensei..! You're all torn up!" the genin observed, pointing out the parts he'd rubbed through the metal braces. Sasuke gave a quick rotation to his wrist joints, frowning down at the boy.

"Look at yourself before you say something like that. What the hell happened out there?!" he demanded. Naruto stared, and just as he opened his mouth to answer, those big blue eyes roled backwards into his head, and Sasuke narrowlly caught him before he fell to the ground. From this angle, he was now able to see the gashes that were scattered at random points all over the blond's back. Much like Sasuke, his wrists and ankles were rubbed raw and fleshy. He even had what looked like chakra burns.

"Sasuke...! Naruto...!"

Sasuke lifted his head at the far off calls of Kiba. He lifted Naruto bridal style against his chest and made his way out of the room. What lay beyond made his stomach churn. He hurried out of the shanty-like hideout the bandits had created, and back into the forest where a dizzy looking Kiba and Akamaru were waiting. Neji sat on the ground with his canteen open in his hands, seemingly irritated that the sleeping aget had effected him. Both men stood at attention when Sasuke appeared with Naruto.

"What the fuck..?! How the hell did this happen?! Did you get attacked?! We felt that demon in the area a while ago, was that it?!" Kiba asked incredulously. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows.

"Demon? No, those bastards locked me up, they were nearly going to sell the brat off as a slave." he replied. Neji frowned.

"Then how did this happen? We distinctly felt that chakra explosion." he stated. Sasuke looked down at Naruto, then back up.

"And you think... it was a demon?" he muttered. Neji and Kiba looked at one another.

"Well, yeah man. That sure as hell wasn't human or animal..."

Sasuke stared at the blood soaked mass in his arms, studying his students face for a good minute, then shook his head.

"I can't remember feeling anything. Lets get back to Konoha, Naruto needs to get to a hospital." he said, moving to push the boy up on Akamaru's back. Neji frowned.

"Aside from the blood, why would he need a hospital?" he asked. Sasuke gave him a disparaging look, pulling up Naruto's shirt to show him the wounds.

"Well for one he's cut up like TenTen's practice dummys!" he remarked. Kiba and Neji exchanged yet another look.

"Sasuke, man, he looks fine to me..." Kiba said, trailing off. Sasuke looked down at the skin his hand was exposing. Confusion flooded his mind at the sight of unmarred, perfect skin.

Sasuke found himself continuously looking towards the sleeping bundle of his student the entire way back to Konoha. Naruto lay plush against the soft white fur of Akamaru, completely oblivious to his teacher racing thoughts.

_'A... demonic chakra, huh...?'_

* * *

**Bum bum buuuum**

**Thats it for this chapterrr... I really hoped it worked out okay, no way in HELL I'm making any promises when the next chapter will come out, ahahaha. Lets hope my love of SasuNaru comes back full force soon, ne? I admit I did feel a little nostalgic, finishing this chapter.**

**Uuuooo, Sasuke's suspicious of Naruto! He must not know of Naruto's secret! How does Sasuke feel about demons, I wonder!**

**Until next time (and really, who knows when that will be, seeing as how its ME saying it...), you can review and tell me what an awful updater I am!  
**

**Rae  
**


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